Need Help With the new Cambria Co changeover

[dcpjeep1]

Hope I have the right forum..I currently have a Bearcat 145xl and am going to get a new scanner. With the new Cambria County changeover what would you recommend? I live in the Hastings, Northern Cambria area and am totally clueless how to get scanning the police and fire airwaves. If someone could recommend a scanner and get me up and running I would truly appreciate it....I am not very scanner smart...lol Thank You..

 

[ATTACKFF]

Any bearcat or radio shack scanner would work. I would buy at least 1 50 channel scanner. You should also beable to hear Clearfield County fairly well and also Indiana Co. Good luck.

 

[captclint]

With the new Cambria County changeover what would you recommend? I live in the Hastings, Northern Cambria area If someone could recommend a scanner and get me up and running I would truly appreciate it

Your current 16 channel scanner is a base, so the 1st decision is whether you want a portable, or a base/mobile You will find this Scanner decision article very helpful, but you do not need a trunking or digital scanner.

As ATTACKFF said, just about any scanner will do what you want, but I would recommend one with PL (CTCSS). This may help you with any interference you get, as well as eliminate communications from other counties that may use the same frequencies. This is particularly true for the MED channels, although they are not particularly interesting for the average listener, and I don't see any listed for Cambria. Another point to consider is Alpha Tags. When you have a lot of channels programmed, it is hard to remember what they are. Alpha Display allows you to put a description, like Cambria FD-1. Here are some charts to help with your comparison of features:
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Uniden_Scanner_Comparison
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Uniden_Handheld_Scanner_Comparison
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Radio_Shack_Scanners
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Uniden_Scanners
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/GRE_Radios
The portable/base links above will give you much more detail on any model you want to research further. Many of these can be programmed with software through your PC. While not necessary, it does make initial set-up and changes very easy. I would pay attention to which ones list PC Programmable. There are some very good free programs when/if you get past your initial decision.

Personally, I have the SC230, and it has all the features you could want. It is only $149. You can use it as a base, as well, with the AC adapter. Learning to program it is perhaps a bit more difficult at first, but this is where the software really helps. The BC246 is the same scanner, but with trunking, so the 246 reviews are valid. The Pro-84 is very similar (it is made by Uniden), but the programming is a little more direct, since it has banks. (The reviews talk about the same function key as the SC230, which may negate my comment about easier to program). You can get this one on ebay for $70-$130. Although these are both "racing scanners", they do everything you need for police, fire, EMS, etc

 

[HM1529]

Just a note to everyone interested in Cambria County...

some time over the course of the next week or so, I will be making changes to the Cambria Co database listing to bring everything up to date and to remove old information.

Unfortunately, I am pretty busy with work this time of year and free time is limited. This is on my to do list, though, so be prepared for the page to look different soon.

Ben